Vatican’s Diwali message wants Hindu-Christian bond

People of both faiths can cultivate a culture of care and concern states Diwali message written to Hindus Christians and Hindus are bound by their belief in human dignity and share a responsibility to help those in need, said the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in Vatican’s Diwali message this year.

Members of both faiths have a “moral duty to care for the vulnerable,” which is rooted in the belief “that we are all God’s creatures and, as a result, brothers and sisters, equal in dignity, with responsibility for one another,” Bishop Miguel Ayuso Guixot, secretary of the council, said the message released Oct. 31 by the Vatican.

“A healthy awareness of our common human condition and our moral duty toward others inspires us to promote their cause by doing all that we can to alleviate their sufferings, defend their rights and restore their dignity,” he said.

Bishop Ayuso extended his best wishes to the world’s 1.1 billion Hindus for the feast of Diwali, a three-day religious festival, which begins Nov. 7 in most parts of the world. The festival focuses on the victory of truth over lies, light over darkness, life over death and good over evil.

Those who suffer due to poverty and violence, as well as those who are “socially, religious, culturally and linguistically marginalized and excluded” are often discarded and ignored “by a society increasingly indifferent and even callous in the face of human needs and sufferings,” Bishop Ayuso wrote.